IFC Investment to Spur Job Creation by Supporting Egypt's Fertilizer and Construction Sectors
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has approved a loan and equity investment package that will support Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), and help stimulate foreign direct investment in Egypt, while creating jobs and supporting inclusive economic growth.
The investment is expected to provide more than 2,500 jobs across the region. IFC will make a $50 million equity investment in OCI and provide a $200 million loan to the Egyptian Fertilizer Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OCI. IFC will also help mobilize an additional $200 million from other lenders.
“This support from IFC is an important signal that Egypt remains an appealing destination for foreign direct investment,” said OCI chairman Nassef Sawiris. “It will also help us carry out our long-term objective of growing our core businesses and expanding employment opportunities.”
OCI employs 84,000 people in 25 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. It plans to use the funds to expand its fertilizer and construction businesses, which are important sources of jobs in Egypt and the wider region. The Egyptian Fertilizer Company aims to increase its production significantly by 2012, which will help make the OCI Fertilizer Group one of the three biggest producers in the world. This will help support the fertilizer industry, a key to boosting agricultural production during a time of increasing global need for food security.
“OCI is at the forefront of the construction and fertilizer sectors in the Middle East and North Africa,” said Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC Vice President for Eastern and Southern Europe, Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa. "This investment is in line with our strategy of supporting cross-border and foreign direct investment, generating jobs, and creating opportunity for people in the Middle East and North Africa
region. IFC's partnership with a strong regional company such as Orascom Construction Industries highlights the long-term potential for investment the region's private sector.”
IFC is committed to fostering economic development in the Middle East and North Africa through an integrated investment and advisory services program, underpinned by the conviction that the private sector plays a key role in reducing poverty and creating jobs, particularly for the region’s large population of unemployed youth.
IFC invested $1.5 billion in the Middle East and North Africa in the 2011 fiscal year. IFC also helped mobilize funds from other international financial institutions, making up about $500 million of the $1.5 billion invested. IFC expects to continue to increase its support for the region, investing up to $6 billion by 2014, including $2 billion in mobilization.
This article was originally posted on Egypt - Sudan Business Communities
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